1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera device, and more particularly, to a camera device for taking images in a visual field perpendicular to an optical image-pickup axis using prisms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a camera device, for example, a camera device as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9 is known. That is, the camera device 1, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, mainly includes an image pickup member having a single image pickup element 7 and an image pickup lens 9 arranged on a front side of the image pickup element 7, a two substantially triangular prisms 13 and 14 arranged in a left and right symmetry at a front side of the image pickup lens 9, and a wide lens 11 arranged at a front side of the image pickup lens 9.
The prism 13 (14) is arranged such that a rear surface 13B (14B) of the prism faces the image pickup lens 9 and the side surface 13L (14R) of the prism is disposed towards the visual field (herein a visual field in a left and right direction) in the direction substantially perpendicular to the optical image pickup axis. Substantially on the entire surface of the prism side surface 13R (14L) in the opposite visual field side of the prism 13 (14), a reflective film 20R (21L) for totally reflecting light CL (CR) incident on the inner surface of the prism side surface is provided.
With this construction, as shown in FIG. 9, the light CL (CR) from the visual field in the leftward (rightward) direction is incident on a prism 13 (14) side surface 13L (14R) in the visual field thereof, and is reflected twice between the inner surface of the side surface 13R (14L) of the prism 13 (14) in the opposite visual field side and the inner surface of the prism side surface 13L (14R) at the visual field side and emitted from a rear surface 13B (14B) of the prism to form an image on the image pickup element 7 through the image pickup lens 9. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 3, light CF from the visual field in the downwardly oblique direction at the front side forms an image on the image pickup element 7 through the wide lens 11 and the image pickup lens 9.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11, the single image pickup element 7 provides the three visual fields such as the left and right visual fields and the visual field in the downwardly oblique direction at the front side are imaged at the same time (herein the visual field in the left and right direction is imaged on a left half area GL (right half area GR) of an upper half area Gu of an image pickup screen G2, and the visual field in a downwardly oblique direction at the front side is imaged on a lower half area Gd of the image pickup screen G2).